A semiconductor memory such as a ferroelectric memory includes a cell capacitor that stores information as charge (Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 7-202138). A cell capacitor of a ferroelectric memory includes two electrodes and a dielectric film located between the electrodes. The dielectric film is ferroelectric (spontaneously polarized).
A semiconductor device including logic units and memory units is provided with a capacitor, the application of which differs from the cell capacitor. For example, the semiconductor device includes a smoothening capacitor connected between two wires that supply operational power. A ferroelectric is used as such a smoothening capacitor. A smoothening capacitor using a ferroelectric has a higher capacitance per unit area (relative permittivity) than a capacitor using a dielectric such as silicon oxide or silicon nitride.